Bow Wow Wow and X
ands 9 courage to be
differe
By FRANK BRUNI
At a time when trends toward conservatism and
conformity, run rampant the courage to be different
must be admired. This kind of alluring originality
combines with enormous amounts of creative energy
to form the distinct appeal of X's Under the Big Black
Sun and Bow Bow Wow's Want Candy.
Under the Big Black Sun, X's current offering and
best album to date, stands as unequivocal proof that
something good can emerge from the LA. hard-core
punk rock subculture. On this album; X reflect upon
their roots in this dark underworld and weave an in
tricate, nightmarish vision of human existence in the
face of death's constant threat.
The characters who live and breathe in the band's
compositions are passionate animals like the roaming
carnivore in "The Hungry Wolf," whose recognition
of mortality precipitates hedonistic lifestyles and
crimes of passion. Still, X realize the ironic twist to
such an existence: the reckless living that mortality
promotes often speeds death's arrival. "Riding with
Mar' and the album's title track deal with this con
cept on a literal level by alluding to the death of lead
vocalist Exene Cervenka's sister in a car accident last
year.
d
Cervenka and spouse John Doe pen all of the
group's compositions and engage in some of the most
provocative vocal harmony rock music has yet heard.
Don Bonebrake's angry drumming and Billy Zoom's
violent guitar licks faithfully support the vocals. X's
music is demanding and complex. Often the intricate
compositions exhilaratingly tread the fine line be
tween euphony and cacophony. But these musicians
know what they're doing, and quite willingly slow
down the pace to reveal their versatility through the
bluesy "Come Back to Me," an offbeat eulogy de
livered in deliciously nasal tones by Cervenka.
While X takes its music and dark messages seriously.
Bow Wow Wow is out for a good time. And the Wows
create mindless, raunchy fun just as successfully as X
provokes contemplation.
What is Bow Wow Wow? -
This question has been asked often enough to elicit
some kind of response from the group, and that re
sponse is their new album. Want Candy is Bow Wow
Wow's bid for pop stardom, and the band may very
well get what they want this time around. They cer
tainly deserve it
For this album, the group has refined the jungle
rhythms and tribal chants which characterized their
ntis admire
first album without losing the energy or the primitive
charm of their music Side 1 of Want Candy proves
how successful this compromise is. "I Want Candy,"
"Baby, Oh No," and "Louis Quatorze" are marvelous
examples of how accessible and downright magical
the combination of lead singer Annabel la Lwin's
nubile, sensual voice and Dave Barbarossa's forebod
ing drumming can be.
Side 2 of the album consists, almost entirely of re
mixes of material from the See Jungle album which
preceded this effort For those who have never heard
See Jungle, this is a good example of what was missed.
For those already familiar with the material, these
renditions of the songs are disappointing compared to
the originals. -.
X and Bow Wow Wow are two relatively obscure
rock groups who offer refreshing assurance that
musical innovation is not 'a thing of the past If the
American public is willing to take a chance and invest
in something new and different Under the Big Black
Sun and I Want Candy will achieve the popularity
they merit
Frank Bruni an is assistant arts editor for The Daily
Tar Heel.
5:10
3:10
7:10 9:10
Peter O' Toole
My
Favorite
Year(PG)
(Times change
Fri. to 3 5 7 9)
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LAST DAY!
2:15 4:40
7:05 9:30
An Officer
and a
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Bow Wow Wow out for a good time
.group creates mindless, raunchy fun
polo
From page 6
Most of the reactions from the spectators,
however, are as varied as are the people
themselves. Some are absorbed in the horses,
the players and the beauty of the game.
Others are more interested in just participat
ing in a unique social event
And the North Carolina Polo Club has
something to offer them all.
The club, which consists of Douglas' sti
dents, his fellow players and interested
friends, offers weekly social functions and
even a polo ball in October!
It also allows the players who love the
game the opportunity to practice and show
off their skills.'
April Pauley, a UNC graduate and part
time polo player, said she first became inter
ested in the game when a friend told her that
Douglas was trying to start a club in North
Carolina. , ,
She said most players become addicted to
the game in no time.
But the expenses of travel and equipment,
plus buying and feeding the horses, were
factors that stopped many people from par
ticipating in the sport
"If there's a way to do it Twill," Pauley
said. "If I go broke, I'll stop."
The matches, beginning at 2 p.m. on Sun
days, are played outside of Durham at the
Old Stadwick Farm. To get there, take 15-501
bypass Durham; get on the Old Oxford High
way and follow the signs from there. There is
a $5 charge for field side parking.
Edith Wooten is a staff writer for The Daily
Tar Heel.
LAST DAY!
3:15 5:15 7:15
ADULTS $2.00
ALL TIMES.
A FJidsummer
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Sex Comedy
LAST DAY!
9:20 ONLY
DOLBY STEREO
Pink Floyd
the Wall (R)
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STARTS FRIDAY, OCT. 22S
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Weekend, October 21, 1932